I recently saw in the Star Advertiser newspaper that Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport had gone up in ranking. Now... glory be... our airport was apparently just the 4th worst in the nation.
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Well, I have to say with all the airports we've been to, I can attest that it's true our Honolulu airport isn't great. But they did improve the bathrooms. 😆
However, there was that trip to Amsterdam we took with friends a couple of years ago where our 7:00 AM United plane to San Francisco had a malfunction and passengers were running around everywhere as they tried to change their ticketing to another airline.
We stuck with United and they changed our flight to Newark instead, leaving Honolulu at 2:55 PM! Arrghh!
At Newark Liberty International Airport, we now had a 12 hour layover!
United gave us $20 meal vouchers to use at Newark which we handed over to the server at the airport.
Would you believe when we returned to Hawaii after the trip, we discovered the Newark airport concession charged us anyway?!?
Arrrghhh!
OK.. So we don't love the Newark Airport either.
All these delays meant we missed a day of our cruise.
So that was our Honolulu airport and Newark's airport that we weren't thrilled with.
But like I said, the Honolulu Airport bathrooms are much improved. 😁
Granted the lines here and there can be really confusing.
Really?
Well... it IS huge.
But I guess we're just used to it. And whenever we land there I know we're going to see our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter so it makes me happy.
Ah well...
P.S. I just saw this on the Business Traveler website. The website is listing the worst large airports in the U.S. according to the J.D. Power Analytics firm in 2024. (The list goes from bad to worst.)
| Ranking | Airport |
|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) |
| 2 | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) |
| 3 | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) |
| 4 | John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) |
| 5 | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) |
| 6 | Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) |
| 7 | San Francisco International Airport (SFO) |
| 8 | Orlando International Airport (MCO) |
| 9 | Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) |
| 10 | Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) |
| 11 | Miami International Airport (MIA) |
| 12 | Denver International Airport (DEN) |
| 13 | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) |
| 14 | George Bush International Airport (IAH) |
| 15 | Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) |
| 16 | Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) |
| 17 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) |
| 18 | O’Hare International Airport (ORD) |
| 19 | Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) |
| 20 | Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) |
Do you see what's at the bottom? Yup. Newark Liberty International Airport is the worst! Hawaii isn't even on the list. And O'Hare isn't the worst. OK, so it's the 3rd worst, but it's not THE worst.
Do you have an airport you love to hate or just love?
I think the results vary according to who is conducting the survey!
ReplyDeleteNaw … we’re just not plane folks. 🤓
ReplyDeleteToo funny! And perfect!
DeleteIf you’re talking mainland USA - for some reason we’ve never had a good experience at LA International. Not sure why but every time we’ve used it something goes wrong. Don’t ask us to travel via London Heathrow….please.
ReplyDeleteNow if we travel anywhere via Singapore Changi there’ll be a big smile on my face the whole time we’re there…..long layovers (several hours) are standard but always ‘a pleasure. And of course our own Tullamarine International here in Melbourne isn’t too bad either (Sydney is a real pain…don’t use it unless you have to!😊)
I've flown through 14 of the 20 airports on that list over the years. It makes me wonder what they use in their definition of the worst airport because all of them seem like "good" airports. By good, I mean they are well labeled so I can find where I'm going, have plenty of restrooms and services to tide me over on layovers and they provide me with a place to sit down until my next flight arrives. If they are defining an airport by the number of cancelled/changed flights or lost luggage, not really a problem of the airport but of the airlines themselves, then Chicago ranks up there on my list. I have experienced more delays/cancellations there than any on that list, with Newark being the second most. But again, that is just because lots of flights go through those places and not that the airport itself has any blame for that.
ReplyDeleteSince most of our flights are to the West Coast I haven't been through Chicago for years. We used to fly into San Francisco, but when Southwest started service to San Jose (which is much closer to our family) we use it exclusively now. I have transferred through a few on the list, and as Ed says all of them meet my basic criteria.
ReplyDeleteI see all kinds of complaints about SeaTac yet don't have problems when I go, always 2 hours ahead of time with my boarding pass printed out and my TSA Pre-Check. I hated JFK but when I started flying Alaska there, I discovered that their terminal isn't crowded or crazy like some of the others. It really does depend. I'm not crazy about O'Hare or LAX; it could be because they're so gigantic.
ReplyDeleteooh I see Toronto ranked 19th
ReplyDeleteMany on the list are also the biggest. Big international airports are hard to navigate and easy to get lost in. They are not fun. However I don't know what the criteria is for judging them the "worst". I see that Sea-Tac is low down on the list. Major additions and refurbishing has just been completed. Maybe it's better now? Anyway, for the forseeable future I am done with airports. Good luck out there.
ReplyDeleteAny huge airport will be problematic somehow.
ReplyDeleteI hardly travel at all nowadays but of the few airports I have gone to, I think the SEA/TAC airport is pretty bad. Everything looks old and dingy and when I caught a hotel shuttle bus to the airport, he didn't drop me off on the street level to check in. It was across the street upstairs and I had to maneuver 2 large bags with my rolling carryon bags down an escalator and over to the terminal. I think our Honolulu airport is just fine. So if it is ranked so low, I would like to see the best airports because they must be fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of myself that I got through Ohare and met my daughter in the appointed place. It was different leaving Ohare.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is a pain. I so loathe travel. You are brave!
ReplyDeleteSo, Toronto is in the United States now. Hmm. Not surprised. -D
ReplyDeleteKay, I love flying, but don't like airports... generally too crowded and long waits. Haven't been on a plane since before the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see that Washington-Dulles isn’t on that list. I haven’t flown since 2018. I like to people watch at airports but I am happy to be a homebody for a while.
ReplyDeleteI am always surprised at how nice Asian and European airports are, compared to ours in the States. I'm just glad I'm not flying anymore.
ReplyDeleteoooooh the list!! we use newark airport all the time and we. love. it. we use it for ourselves and also when our son visits. arrivals are always on time or early!! they are making huge renovations to the airport, updating all of the terminals. last time the son flew, he had a new terminal and said it was awesome!!
ReplyDeleteWe just flew through Newark and I think the standings will probably improve since they have now built a super nice, new, EFFICIENT terminal. But yes, the old terminals are awful. I was so stunned the first time I landed at Vancouver because their airport is so so so clean and modern compared to old Newark!
ReplyDeleteHello Tofugirl, I'm sorry I wasn't able to respond earlier. My life has been a little crazy lately. That's so nice to hear about Newark. One of these days... we may pass through there again. You can never tell.
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